Harumi Miyako/Na Hoon-a -- Osaka Shigure (大阪しぐれ)

Every now and again, I would pick up a popular do-enka (a very “enka-like” enka, if you will) song out of curiosity or nostalgia, realise or remember why it was a massive hit, and then have a phase of obsessively listening to it. It had been a while since that's happened, but my recent enka obsession has been Osaka Shigure.

This was one of the many jewels in the crown of enka royal Harumi Miyako (都はるみ). Written by Osamu Yoshioka (吉岡治) and composed by Shosuke Ichikawa (市川昭介), it was released on 1st February 1980 during the genre's and the singer's golden ages. It's a languid tune with a nice rhythm based in a rainy Osaka. Miyako plays the role of woman who would give her all to the one she loves even if it hurts her because she can't live without him. It ticks all the boxes for a quintessential enka song, and it's really easy on the ears. I've owned a Miyako compilation album for quite some time now, and Osaka Shigure was always one track I've enjoyed when I remember that it's there. However, what sparked my recent hyper-fixation on it?

Na Hoon-a (羅勲児/ナフナ).

A little while ago, I talked about my introduction to the South Korean trot star, and I've been getting into his music as of late. Having broken into the Japanese enka scene in the mid-1980s, Na covered a number of well-known enka/kayo hits in his distinct, highly emotive style that somewhat resembles the do-enka manner of singing. Among these covers, I picked Osaka Shigure to sample first simply because of the aforementioned fact that I know I enjoyed Miyako's original. Boy, was I hooked immediately by the way Na handled the song.

In terms of vocal delivery, Miyako very lightly glides over the words, and her signature high-pitched trill is not as prevalent here as it is in some of her other hardcore enka hits. It paints our protagonist as delicate, but still having the resolve to devote herself to her lover. Na, on the other hand, takes his time with each word and pours them out with great deliberation, the effect of which makes the protagonist's aforementioned desire and anguish stemming from her self-perceived ineptitude feeling a lot more raw and heavy. I’d been told that one of Na’s appeals is that he can sound as though he’s sobbing, which I assume serves to accentuate a song protagonist’s sadness and longing. In the case of this cover, at least, you can certainly feel this effect. His voice is cathartic to listen to, and at least for me, it can feel a little like a proxy for releasing pent-up feelings.

I'm not certain as to when Na released his cover of Osaka Shigure, but I know that it was at least included in his some of his Japanese album releases between the late 1980s and 1990s

Flower Kayo

 

Yesterday on "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌）, the episode's theme was on flower-titled kayo kyoku. That did get me to thinking...as I recall, there have been quite a few such songs that I've remembered over the decades, so I've decided to provide my own short list. My list kinda breaks out a little more widely although the first entry here was also included on the program's own list. Anyways, without further ado:

(1964) Harumi Miyako -- Anko Tsubaki wa Koi no Hana （アンコ椿は恋の花）

(1966) Mike Maki -- Bara ga Saita （バラが咲いた）

(1980) Mariya Takeuchi -- Morning Glory

(1983) Yumi Matsutoya -- Dandelion ~ Osozaki no Tanpopo （ダンデライオン〜遅咲きのたんぽぽ）

(2012) Yoko Kanno -- Hana wa Saku （花は咲く）

Blondie -- Rapture

 

I can't quite remember how records and tapes by the big artists were being distributed back in my teenage years, and the reason I'm starting out this way is that the first time that I'd heard Blondie's "Rapture" was actually through one of those K-Tel compilation records in which there was one quick cut of the music video where Debbie Harry was holding her head while she purred the title. Now, I would think by that point, the song had long been released as a single and as part of an album, and so I was wondering why I hadn't heard of this one before. Blondie was already big in the world so I should have heard this one already on the radio or television.

Well, in any case, I eventually did hear the totality of the song and caught the video after it had been released in January 1981. "Rapture" was basically the first time that I ever heard rap in any form. Harry was talking in some rhythmic pattern about eating Cadillacs and entire bars which struck me as being some sort of weird New Wave-y thing. I think the only time that I heard anything similar to that was when I was watching a segment on "Sesame Street" featuring a cartoon bear pattering the first five numbers to a beatnik jazz beat.

In any case, Harry apparently had two parts to the song: the first part had her singing in those fluffy light vocals which reminded me of "Heart of Glass" and then the rap part in the latter half had her utilizing those richer and lower tones from "The Tide is High". Looking back at the song after so many years, "Rapture" certainly doesn't strike me as the usual rap tune with the tubular bells and the disco rhythms in there. Plus, I'm sure when the video was first shown, maybe there had been a disclaimer stating that one shouldn't be under the influence while watching it. Aside from Harry, the one other character that I still remember is the so-called "Man from Mars" in his white suit and top hat.

"Rapture" hit No. 1 in the United States while it reached No. 3 in Canada. I also recently found out through the YouTube comments for the song that it had become part of the lore in "The Boys" with Soldier Boy doing a cover on "Solid Gold". Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing Captain America trying it out himself.

Anyways, right on the day that "Rapture" was released, these three songs were at the top of the Oricon chart.

1. Masahiko Kondo -- Sneaker Blues (スニーカーぶるーす）

2. Harumi Miyako -- Osaka Shigure （大阪しぐれ）

3. Mayumi Itsuwa -- Koibito yo （恋人よ）

Harumi Miyako -- Harumi no Sandogasa（はるみの三度笠）

By Miguel Discart via Wikimedia Commons

Ah, yes...the sandogasa. According to Jisho.org, it's described as a "type of traditional Japanese conical hat", although I can't really see anything conical about the hat itself. However, I have seen this on many a Japanese pate in historical TV shows and movies, and it can be quite the introductory device as a lordless ronin of justice travels the byways of Japan with the sandogasa covering his eyes until it's time ​to reveal the whole face...and usually a whole ton of sword-flashing kickass.

NHK's "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌...Songs of Japanese Spirit） was back on for the first time since the Holidays and I got to see someone sing a Harumi Miyako（都はるみ）song that I hadn't heard before (or at least for a very long time). Apparently, lyricist and composer Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）, one of Miyako's main songwriters in her first decade as a singer, was tickled pink about seeing the young enka chanteuse in a sandogasa that he just went and whipped up her 39th single "Harumi no Sandogasa" (Harumi's Sandogasa) for April 1969. 

The whole lyrical premise is that young Harumi wants to go around everywhere wearing that sandogasa so that she's not recognized, although I have to say that even in the latter half of the 20th century, I think she would have still stuck out like a sore thumb wearing that archaic hat. Perhaps if she kept her person in the Asakusa district, she would have a chance...

Well, then again, if she had been able to head back in time to the Edo era via TARDIS and completely submerge herself into a warrior's role, she may just get away with it...of course, while wearing the titular hat. Back in 1969, she got plenty of fame though by scoring a No. 25 ranking for "Harumi no Sandogasa" and even getting her 5th appearance on the Kohaku Utagassen to sing the song at the end of the year. Of course, her high but steely and growly vocals were one of the highlights.

Vic Mizzy -- The Addams Family

 

Welcome to a special Halloween version of Reminiscings of Youth.

I'm not sure whether the 1960s "The Addams Family" TV show ever made its way to Japanese channels like so many other American sitcoms and dramas of its time, but the 1991 movie adaptation did make its mark in Japan, spawning a half-decade campaign involving most of the cast from the movie to hawk the Honda Odyssey that I remember seeing all the time. 

What connected the 1964 sitcom to the 1991 movie though was the famous theme song. Now, I was probably too young to remember watching "The Addams Family" in its first run (September 1964 - April 1966) but the show always showed up in reruns on the local ABC affiliate in Buffalo, New York in the late afternoons. And of course, I was greeted by the fun if gothic theme by composer and singer Vic Mizzy. Mizzy is already here on KKP due to his creation of the "Green Acres" theme a year later that I posted as a ROY article.

Until I looked up Mizzy on Wikipedia, I had no idea that he had been behind both the themes for "Green Acres" and "The Addams Family" and that he was the one singing the "ooky and kooky" lyrics for the latter song. The song wasn't only catchy but it was audience-participatory because of the need to snap those fingers. By the way, at the time that I first got to know Gomez, Morticia and the rest of the Addams clan, I hadn't known that they were based on the cartoons by Charles Addams in "The New Yorker". I think Raul Julia's Gomez from the 1991 movie looks to be the closest to Charles' depiction in "The New Yorker", but I will always have a softer spot for John Astin's slightly unhinged Groucho Marx-like portrayal of the suave Gomez on the TV series.

I was also a Lurch fan, too.

Now, let's see what won some of the prizes at the Japan Record Awards in 1964.

Grand Prize: Kazuko Aoyama -- Ai to Shi wo Mitsumete（愛と死をみつめて）

Best New Artist: Teruhiko Saigo -- Kimi dake wo（君だけを）

Best New Artist: Harumi Miyako -- Anko Tsubaki wa Koi no Hana （アンコ椿は恋の花）

Harumi Miyako -- Mukashi（ムカシ）

 

My mother has often asked the question, "Where is Harumi Miyako（都はるみ）? I haven't seen her in ages." Well, looking the legendary enka singer up on J-Wiki, I found out that she basically stopped any public appearances in the mid-2010s, and as of 2021, she's been living with a former actor in an old countryside inn somewhere in the Tohoku region. So, let us just assume that she has finally retired without any great bombast.

Some weeks ago, when I was watching the kayo program "Shin BS Nippon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌）on NHK, I noticed one of the guests singing a Miyako song that I had never heard of before. It started out as one of the more traditional enka but then the carpet was pulled out from beneath us listeners, and it became an old-fashioned rock n' roll tune, reminiscent of the Group Sounds days of the 1960s. 

This would be "Mukashi" which literally translates as "Long Ago". However, considering the lyrics by Yu Aku（阿久悠）, perhaps a better and more pragmatic translation would be "Yesterday's Man". This was Miyako's 119th single from New Year's Day 2003 and looking at that cover of a triumphant-looking singer with the big hair and her smiling visage emblazoned all over her kimono, this isn't an ordinary Miyako single...especially with Ryudo Uzaki（宇崎竜童）handling the composition, him being the grizzled rock master.

Along with the GS sound, Miyako is more than happy to be singing about washing that man right out of her hair...just to reference another old American song from way back when. She's free, I tell you, free of the shackles of the old relationship and ready to tackle new adventures, but not without some gleeful verbal stomping of the former pathetic paramour.

Harumi Miyako -- Bakaccho Defune（馬鹿っちょ出船）

Welcome to the final Monday of August 2025. Although it took me a while to catch up, I've loved the zany Mel Brooks' movies of the 1970s including "Young Frankenstein", and it's poignant to realize that just about all of the main cast have left this mortal coil. There was that one scene where the Monster and Elizabeth had one heck of a romantic night but then the former had to suddenly leave the latter which had poor Liz chastising the Monster as one of those wham-bam-thank-you-ma-am boors who prefers to love 'em and leave 'em.

Harumi Miyako's（都はるみ）June 1965 8th single "Bakaccho Defune" (You Dumb Departing Ships...although I prefer the translation of Darn You, Love 'Em Leave 'Em Sailors) reminds me of that "Young Frankenstein" scene. I heard it last night on NHK's "Shin BS Nihon no Uta" (and yep, it looks like the regular programs are returning from summer hiatus this week) and was delighted that it was a song that I've heard from my childhood but just forgot through the breezy windmills of my mind. 

Written by Miyuki Ishimoto（石本美由起）and composed/arranged by Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）, Miyako herself sings in the lyrics that this is a madorosu kayo kyoku or a sailor-based kayo, one of the many sub-genres that would finally be all officially melded into enka, the traditional genre that finally got official standing in the Japanese lexicon in the early 1970s. I gotta ask Noelle whether that Hawaiian twang in Ichikawa's supremely cheerful arrangement was part and parcel of the madorosu kayo kyoku experience. But in any case, the enka legend also growls about how all those sailors quickly come (no pun intended😁) for the romance but then take off just as quickly for the seas, leaving the women bereft of companionship once more. When Miyako growls the title out, I feel that's similar to Elizabeth barking out in frustration, "Oh, you men are all alike!".

Howard Greenfield -- Bewitched

Wikimedia Commons 

For this week's Reminiscings of Youth, I'm going way back. In fact, it was before I was even a gleam in my mother's eye because September 1964 was when the famed "Bewitched" first premiered on ABC. As I remember sitcoms back then, a lot of them were very much of the zany variety involving magical figures having to deal with life on Earth.

Star Elizabeth Montgomery was one of the first television-occupying women that I could recognize as a kid alongside Mary Tyler Moore, Barbara Feldon and Lucille Ball. By the time, I could acknowledge the TV set as a source of entertainment, "Bewitched" had already been on for a few seasons so Montgomery's character of Samantha Stevens was a weekly and familiar face. But it would be many years later when I finally got a chance to watch that first season which had originally been filmed in black and white. It was rather fascinating to see nose-twitching Sam back then in those mid-60s fashions and hairdo when I was accustomed to seeing her looking nearly hippie-like near the end of the series in the early 1970s.

I also have to give my props to Dick York who played the long-suffering google-eyed Darrin and Agnes Moorehead as the delectably sardonic Endora. Those two in-laws going against each other were also part of the fun of "Bewitched" especially when Darrin had to react to being victimized over and over through magic.

But as much for the television-viewing population here in Canada and America where "Bewitched" has been beloved by certain generations, it really left an impression in Japan. Known there as "Okusama wa Majo"（奥さまは魔女）, the show was so popular that it kept getting rerun until 1980, several years after it had finished its run in the States. Montgomery even made a few commercials there in character as Sam.

I also remember an adaptation of the show being made in Japan starring Ryoko Yonekura（米倉涼子）back in the 2000s. I never bothered watching it myself but when I heard that veteran entertainer Mari Natsuki（夏木マリ）had been cast as the Endora character, I thought it was perfect. As well, though I have yet to cover it on the blog, singer-songwriter Kaela Kimura（木村カエラ）did her tribute to "Bewitched" with the song "Samantha".  I also noted it almost a decade ago on KKP but the 1966 anime "Mahotsukai Sally"（魔法使いサリー） had been inspired by the show as well. In fact, I'm wondering if "Bewitched" may have even had an influence on the whole magical girl genre including "Sailor Moon" and the "PreCure" franchise.

Of course, there is the theme song by Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller. Originally performed as a fairly subdued theme with those shimmering strings and muted horns, I preferred the later version of it when it was rearranged into something more Big Band swing. Either way, the "Bewitched" theme is one of the earliest songs that I know along with the themes for "Star Trek", "Mannix" and "Get Smart".

Anyways, a few months into its original run, the usual Japanese music awards were being handed out. I've got the two Best New Artists from the Japan Record Awards.

Harumi Miyako -- Anko Tsubaki wa Koi no Hana （アンコ椿は恋の花）

Teruhiko Saigo -- Kimi dake wo（君だけを）

By the way, before I finish up, I wonder whether "Bewitched" was also behind the whole sexy concept of Hadaka no Apron（裸のアプロン）?

The Trammps -- Disco Inferno

 

Welcome to the weekly Reminiscings of Youth! I remember when I saw "Ghostbusters" at the theatre over 40 years ago, there was that one scene with nebbishy accountant Louis Tully (played by "SCTV" cast member Rick Moranis who excelled in playing such characters) holding a party for his clients. Just to show how out of touch he was with most things, The Trammps' "Disco Inferno" was playing all too loudly on his stereo during a time when disco was considered way out-of-date in the new age of New Wave, synthpop and breakdancing music. Plus even the term "Disco Sucks" itself was pretty much a cliché at that point.

But I remember when "Disco Inferno", along with a lot of other similar songs back in those 1970s, was the bee's knees in the record shops, dance clubs and radio. I also heard it a lot on those disco LP compilation commercials on TV. It was released on December 28th 1976 and though it didn't make too much headway up the charts in its initial release, it was given rocket boosters once it had been included onto the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack in its nearly 11-minute version. In the following year of 1978, "Disco Inferno" even scraped the Top 10 by reaching No. 11 in America while in Canada, it actually penetrated the Top 10 on RPM by scoring a No. 6 ranking. 

Never had a chance to dance to this, but after seeing John Travolta incinerating the floor at the disco, I wouldn't dare. Anyways, what was at the top of the Oricon charts on December 27th 1976?

1. Harumi Miyako -- Kita no Yado Kara （北の宿から）

2. Koichi Morita and The Top Gallants -- Seishun Jidai （青春時代）

3. Naoko Ken -- Abayo （あばよ）

Harumi Miyako -- Ara Miteta no ne（アラ見てたのね）

 

My parents have been wondering about where enka legend Harumi Miyako（都はるみ）has been over the past few years. Well, through one newspaper and one magazine via J-Wiki, I found out that she's basically been retired from the geinokai over the past decade with her final concert being at the end of 2015. At last report, she was living with just-as-retired actor Shigeru Yazaki（矢崎滋）in a hotel somewhere in the Tohoku region.

Last night, while we were watching NHK's "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新・BS日本のうた）, I encountered a song that I had never heard by Miyako (performed by someone else, of course) titled "Ara Miteta no ne" (Ah, You Were Watching Us) which was released as her 12th single in January 1966. Written by Shinichi Sekizawa（関沢新一）and composed by Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）, it's a coquettish little enka featuring Miyako as this young lady in a small town who has been experiencing a thrilling affair with a guy. Unlike other couples who would want to keep their relationship on the QT, it seems as if young Harumi isn't exactly hiding her glee at being found out. The jauntiness of the melody hints pretty loudly that the revelation is just as thrilling as the affair.

Harumi Miyako -- Horechattan da yo（惚れちゃったんだヨ）

 

Over the past several weeks, I've been watching the latest NHK morning serial drama "Anpan"（あんぱん） starring Mio Imada（今田美桜）. As with many an NHK asadora, "Anpan" starts off in the early Showa era as Imada portrays a countryside girl, Nobu, who eventually marries a quiet and kindhearted guy, Takashi. A fictionalized account of the famous manga author Takashi Yanase（やなせたかし）who creates the popular Japanese hero "Anpanman"（アンパンマン）, the drama thus far seems to focus on both Nobu and Takashi and it looks like from what I saw of the sneak preview for next week, "Anpan" is ready to head into the tumultuous war years. 

As for Nobu, she is also kind, headstrong and optimistic...and is more than willing to punch anyone into the next century on a wave of rage if she sees something that simply isn't right. 

If Nobu had been even more of a tomboy, I would have thought this 40th single by veteran enka singer Harumi Miyako（都はるみ）would have been perfect. "Horechattan da yo" (I've Gosh Darn Fallen in Love) was released in July 1969. Usually my impression of Japanese love songs is that a female singer vocalizes the songwriter's words into something very light and airy. Not this song. When I first heard "Horechattan da yo", my butt flew off the chair by a couple of centimetres when Miyako's bullhorn declaration cleared my ears. This truly felt like words from a farm girl who doesn't mind getting her hands and feet dirty for the family trade but finally experiences those first pangs of love for a guy in her school. Maybe there will be a Cinderella angle here. Osamu Yoshioka（吉岡治）was the lyricist here while Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）took care of the melody and arrangement which are suitably sweet, languid and enka to fit the rural environment.

Osaka Songs

 

Well, the Osaka Expo is now fully underway. Back last week, I posted a Kaori Mizumori（水森かおり）enka in commemoration of the event, and earlier today, NHK's "Uta Con"（うたコン ）provided a song festival for Osaka in tribute as well. I realized then that I may not have put up a list of Osaka-based kayo kyoku on KKP as of yet, and checking some of the key files, I apparently have not done so. Therefore, without further ado, here are some of those songs, a few of which were featured on "Uta Con".

(1976) Senri and Mari Unabara -- Osaka Rhapsody （大阪ラプソディー）

(1986) Takajin Yashiki -- Yappa Sukiyanen （やっぱ好きやねん）

(1981) Harumi Miyako & Tadashi Miyazaki -- Futari no Osaka （ふたりの大阪）

(1982) Masaki Ueda -- Osaka Bay Blues

(1979) BORO -- Osaka de Umareta Onna （大阪で生まれた女）

And of course, we gotta pay tribute to the 1970 Expo in Osaka.

(1967) Haruo Minami -- Sekai no Kuni Kara Konnichiwa (世界の国からこんにちは）

Just for Fun...The J-C AI Gallery -- Harumi, Yasuhiro & Arashi

 

Well, our building is currently in the middle of a sudden water outage due to a burst pipe; it has been very cold out there over the past few days. As such, we're in the middle of a holding pattern but hopefully, we'll be back to normal within 90 minutes. In any case, I'm a little frazzled right now after all of the running around to get information and updates so allow me to include another visit to the AI gallery.

Harumi Miyako -- Osaka Shigure （大阪しぐれ）

Sorry it's not definitively Osaka.

Yasuhiro Abe -- Cafe Flamingo

Arashi -- A-RA-SHI

Harumi Miyako -- Sayonara Kaikyo（さよなら海峡）

 

The above photo of a reflective Kayo Grace by the strait was actually the runner-up for the photo that I ultimately used in the J-C AI Gallery on June 1st. However, it finally gets its chance to shine here.

A few days ago, I received a request via the Contact Form from someone in Brazil asking whether I would be able to find someplace on the Net that had sheet music for a Harumi Miyako（都はるみ）enka ballad titled "Sayonara Kaikyo" (The Goodbye Strait). Despite my best efforts, my attempts failed although I know that Yamano Music in Ginza sells sheet music but its website doesn't seem to be equipped with the function to tell people whether a specific example of sheet music exists. Unfortunately, then, I had to inform the inquirer that I wasn't able to help with my apologies.

But in the attempt, I was able to discover a new song that I hadn't heard from Miyako before. "Sayonara Kaikyo" was released in August 1979 as her 78th single. Created by lyricist Osamu Yoshioka（吉岡治）and composer Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）, it's sung by the veteran enka artist as if she's on the verge of collapsing in tear-filled despair as she wails about the loss of a beloved partner for some reason. Rather like Sayuri Ishikawa's（石川さゆり）classic "Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyu Geshiki"（津軽海峡・冬景色）, the long body of water is acting like a massive shoulder to cry upon for the protagonist here. To be honest, it's perhaps a miracle if any freshwater straits in Japan still existed after all that crying into them.

In any case, I'd like to once again apologize to that person for not being able to find the sheet music but would also like to thank them for indirectly leading me to another lovely Miyako enka song. If the person is reading this, I wish you the best of luck in finding what you're looking for.

Just for Fun...The J-C AI Gallery: Harumi, Hibari and Sayuri

 

Looks like Kayo Grace has finally gotten to do a painting of her guy instead of herself all the time. Anyways, last week, I posted up the AI gallery with representatives of enka tunes sung by male performers, so I should also include the women as well. As with that one, I threw in my descriptions of the images that I got from listening and/or reading the lyrics of the songs.

Harumi Miyako -- Kita no Yado Kara

Hibari Misora -- Yawara

Sayuri Ishikawa --  Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyu Geshiki 

Harumi Miyako -- Tokyo Serenade（東京セレナーデ）

 

The personal early reviews on Jme thus far have been that there's been a slight dearth of kayo programming with NHK's "Hayauta"（はやウタ）and "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新・BS日本のうた）not really showing up on the schedule. I'm perhaps not that surprised about the latter since that show is coming from NHK's satellite service and so may not have been licensed or whatnot for Jme.

However, I have tried to fill in the big gap by occasionally bringing in the YouTube videos involving enka and/or Mood Kayo songs, and there are plenty of those to go around thankfully. One nice thing about this is that I've been able to encounter songs that I had yet to see performed on shows like "Uta Con"（うたコン）. Case in point: Harumi Miyako's（都はるみ）"Tokyo Serenade", her 86th single from April 1982. 

Yup, I saw this being performed by Miyako this morning on one of those enka compilation videos, and the music by Asei Kobayashi（小林亜星）under Hiroshi Takada's（高田弘）arrangement rather brings in some of that sumptuousness of Tokyo nightlife among the corporate execs back in those high-flying 1980s. There is some of it which seems to refer to Frank Nagai and Kazuko Matsuo's（フランク永井・松尾和子）classic Mood Kayo "Tokyo Nightclub" （東京ナイトクラブ）but again Takada's flair with tying it all together also incorporates some of that urbane pop although I wouldn't classify "Tokyo Serenade" a City Pop tune. But I can say that it can qualify as a New Adult Music number.

Takashi Taka's（たかたかし）lyrics certainly talks up a typical Mood Kayo scenario as a couple gets ready for a night of hubba-hubba, and of course, the genre loves to describe the love affair, illicit or otherwise. "Tokyo Serenade" peaked at No. 39 on Oricon. I have to admit that among all the appearances of Miyako throughout the decades of her long and successful career, I've found her time in front of the camera in those early 1980s as the most attractive. There's just something about her straight shoulder-length hair and her makeup back then.

Harumi Miyako/Yu Sakai -- Yosakoi Naruko Odori（よさこい鳴子踊り）

 

For all of you enka fans out there, yes, that is indeed singer Hiroshi Miyama（三山ひろし）having fun at last year's Yosakoi Festival in Kochi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. According to Kids Web Japan, the annual tradition began in 1954 following the creation of Yosakoi Naruko Odori (Yosakoi Naruko Dance) based on the minyo "Yosakoi Bushi"（よさこい節...Yosakoi Song）. The dancing is accompanied by a couple of clappers known as naruko.

In July 1965, enka singer Harumi Miyako（都はるみ）recorded her version of "Yosakoi Naruko Odori", which was originally written and composed by Eisaku Takemasa（武政英策）and arranged by Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）. 

Now, the reason that I'm writing about this minyo in the first place is that I just watched the first "Uta Con"（うたコン）this year with real live guests with one of them being pop and R&B singer-songwriter Yu Sakai（さかいゆう）. He managed to perform a very stylized and stylish rearrangement of "Yosakoi Naruko Odori" with hefty dollops of soul and jazz and electric guitar and a brass section hopping onboard. In fact, the above video had comments stating that they came over from watching the "Uta Con" broadcast to catch it once more.

Sakai's version is on his double-CD BEST album "Sakai Yu no Playlist ~ Shiro to Kuro"（さかいゆうのプレイリスト［白と黒］...Yu Sakai's Playlist: Black & White） from December 2023 to commemorate his 15th anniversary in the music industry. Another reason that I'm writing about this is that not too long ago, I'd also made note of another new twist on an old minyo "Kaigara Bushi"（貝殻節）by Minyo Crusaders.

Shirley Bassey -- Goldfinger

 

Welcome to the weekly Reminiscings of Youth where I present some of the memorable non-kayo kyoku songs of my childhood, youth and perhaps young adulthood. This week, we're going back into the 007 file which has gotten three entries thus far and today is No.4 which involves the third entry in the franchise, the 1964 "Goldfinger".

First off, let me say that I still have a great love for the first two movies, "Dr. No" and "From Russia With Love", but it's been said that with "Goldfinger", the James Bond movie formula was finally realized. The romancing and the coolness/dark humour of Bond were always there but from this movie, we finally got to see the secret gadgets, the testy exchanges between Q and Bond, and a villain that cast his dark shadow throughout the entire movie.

Plus, we got the first sung Bond song in the opening credit sequence, a nifty one with some of the scenes of what we were going to view projected onto a model painted in gold. According to the Wikipedia article for the song, the theme went through some sturm und drang among the production folks but for everyone paying for the experience, Shirley Bassey hit it out of the park and it's been the gold standard (no pun intended) for all of the Bond themes to follow. 

Written and composed by John Barry, Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse, the song had all of what a 007 movie needed: class, swagger, intrigue and danger. And when I finally got to see the movie on ABC (until Roger Moore's final appearance as 007, "A View to a Kill", I'd never seen a Bond flick on the big screen), I enjoyed hearing the thrilling orchestral reprise of the theme in certain key scenes. The song extended Auric's already hefty presence even further. 

Once again according to the Wikipedia article, the theme managed to sell over a million records in the United States, hitting No. 8 on Billboard, and reaching the Top 10 in a number of European nations. It even hit No. 1 in Japan. 

Let's go with the 6th annual Japan Record Awards in 1964.

Best New Artist: Harumi Miyako -- Anko Tsubaki wa Koi no Hana （アンコ椿は恋の花）

Best Performance: Yoko Kishi -- Yoake no Uta （夜明けのうた）

Special Award: Haruo Minami -- Tokyo Gorin Ondo （東京五輪音頭）

Harumi Miyako -- Tanabata Odori（七夕おどり）

 

I missed out on commemorating the traditionally observed Tanabata（七夕）holiday back on July 7th, but I'm making amends here regarding the celebration of the star-crossed lovers.

Tanabata is also one of the earliest festivals of the summer festival season in Japan and you can get more of a feeling of what it's all about by watching the above video by Japanagos. One of the traditions is to write a wish down onto a coloured strip of paper known as tanzaku（短冊）and tie it to a bamboo tree. If I'd had access to tanzaku, I would have written that I wished to visit Japan once more....or win the local Lotto Max.

I did have my days of tanzaku-writing when I was living in Japan but I never saw Tanabata as being a particularly solemn affair. In fact, I think it's quite the lively one with lots of summer colours being bandied about. Double in fact, enka legend Harumi Miyako（都はるみ）released a single in June 1970 titled "Tanabata Odori" (Tanabata Dance); I found the release date at Discogs rather than at J-Wiki where for some odd reason, the single has been omitted from her long discography. 

Regardless, "Tanabata Odori", written by Miyuki Ishimoto（石本美由起）and composed by Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）, is an enka tune done up as a particularly festive minyo number. Miyako is exhorting everyone to get off their duffs and dance; Tanabata isn't something to be merely seen or heard but to be experienced. I would say that any summer festival in Japan is something to be experienced with all of the gaiety generated from not only dancers and other active participants but also the attendees in their seasonal yukata and the yatai selling everything from yakisoba to candy apples. Just be aware of the heat and humidity, though.

If you like, you can take a look at this instructional video on how to perform a dance to Miyako's "Tanabata Odori" provided the Hiratsuka City Tourist Association.

Hiroshi Itsuki & Harumi Miyako -- Futari no Love Song（ふたりのラブソング）

 

Well, before I forget, Happy Chinese New Year! For those who are celebrating, I hope that all of you will be prosperous and healthy in the Year of the Rabbit. 

This song doesn't particularly have anything to do with Chinese New Year. However, I was watching the weekly "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本のうた...New Broadcast Satellite Songs of Japan） earlier this afternoon on TV Japan, and I actually encountered a song that I hadn't heard before from either Hiroshi Itsuki's（五木ひろし）or Harumi Miyako's（都はるみ）vast discographies. Although I did provide an article about Itsuki last year, it's been almost three years since I wrote anything about Miyako via her "Sayonara Kaikyo"（さよなら海峡）.

The enka titans released a duet single titled "Futari no Love Song" (Love Song for Two) in December 1984, and as I heard it on "Shin BS Nihon no Uta" today, I think that it was well worth writing about, something that was confirmed from listening to the actual duo tackle it above. Written by Osamu Yoshioka（吉岡治）and composed by Itsuki himself, it's again one of those kayo that I think straddles the line between enka and Mood Kayo. Perhaps the enka feeling comes from the fact that both singers are well versed in that genre, but the arrangement by Tsuneo Saito（斉藤恒夫）makes things quite comfy for a drink in a Tokyo watering hole somewhere, thus the Mood Kayo tag. I also feel that because it was made as a duet, "Futari no Love Song" was probably ideal in those karaoke bars.

Anyways, enjoy the holiday!🎆